Man Fleeing Police Injects Heroin During Car Chase (Photos)

A Florida man being chased by police seized what proved to be his last opportunity to inject heroin before being arrested.

John Quincey Stephens, 30, was arrested Nov. 27 after a long car chase that ended with Stephens being brought down by a police dog while on foot, according to the Ocala Star-Banner.

The chase began when police officers, who were searching for Stephens to arrest him on unrelated charges, found him at a relative's house.

When Stephens realized police had found him, he fled, stealing his relative's car and driving away. An officer later spotted Stephens driving the car and gave chase.

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The chase went on for miles, according to the Star-Banner, but eventually ended where it started, outside Stephens' relative's house. After arriving at the relative's house in a secluded wooded area, Stephens jumped out of the car and ran.

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Officers chased Stephens on foot, including a K-9 unit of Deputy Michael Donahue and his dog, Tipster.

Tipster caught Stephens and bit his arm, dragging him down for police to capture.

Video of the arrest shows officers restraining Stephens as Tipster clings to his arm.

"I was... I'm on drugs and I didn't know what I was doing," Stephens told officers as they put him in handcuffs, according to the Miami Herald. "You hear me? Hey buddy, sir? I'm on drugs and I want to apologize, man."

Stephens then told officers that he had injected heroin during the car chase.

Police found more heroin in Stephens' car and charged him with fleeing and eluding a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, driving on a suspended license, possession of heroin and aggravated assault with a weapon, according to the Herald.

Before he ran from police, Stephens was wanted for grand theft, grand theft of a motor vehicle, fraud and burglary charges, according to the Star-Banner.

Stephens, who had previously been convicted of uttering a forged instrument and burglary, was released from prison in May, but was still on drug-offender probation until 2020.

Car chases like the one Stephens led police on can be deadly, not just for the officers and suspects involved, but for innocent bystanders, as well. When one driver in a chase is injecting heroin, the danger only increases.

Between 2002 and 2015, 196 people were killed as a direct result of police chases in Florida, according to WTVJ.

In that same time period, at least 4,048 people died nationwide as a result of police chases.